Tuesday, 2 August 2016

The Power of Music

Music is something everyone comes across in some way in their lives. There are so many forms of music and, in my opinion, there is no genre superior to another. Each has its place in the world, and each holds so much power.

Sometimes I think we don't realise just how much power music has over us, and one example of this that first springs to my mind is in film. It has been my dream to one day score music for films since I was fourteen, and since then and even before I have always listened closely to the music in films I watch, and even written essays and orals on the precise way composers write music to influence the audience into feeling a certain emotion. Its crazy that music can have such a huge influence on us that it can make us laugh or cry or be absolutely terrified of something on a screen in front of us, and we barely even register it.

But film is definitely not the only way music is so powerful. There are songs I have listened to where the words have resonated with me so deeply that I can hardly believe they didn't come right out of me. Sometimes the words intertwined with the music conveys a message so ____ that I actually take it to heart and think about it as I go about my day to day life. Music is an integral part of me and has taught me things about the world that I honestly couldn't have learnt alone.

Even in a broader sense, music has the power to move us. You know that feeling when you go to a concert, whether it be a classical concert with an exquisite world famous violinist or a hugely popular band singing in a football stadium, and you get that post-concert rush. You leave feeling like the music has seeped inside you and filled every pore of your being, and you can't contain the smile on your face. This is the power music has. It is a force so strong that it can change the way you feel. You can listen to your favourite band and want to jump up and down for joy, you can listen to a requiem at a funeral and feel simultaneously sad and hopeful. Music has ultimate control over us, and I think that is why it is so magical.

Truly, music is a force to be reckoned with. It has the power to influence our emotions, to change our view of the world and to make us realise things about ourselves. And most importantly, it has the power to make us whole again.

Thursday, 31 March 2016

Dreams and Passions

Hello there.

I seriously doubt anyone is still reading this, seeing as I have posted once so far this year and it's almost April, which I'm not sure I even want to think about honestly. But I've missed blogging, so I thought I'd use this opportunity of a platform that only very few eyes will see to express my feelings. Maybe future me will read this someday and remember what a strange teenager I was. If that is the case, hello future me. I hope you're happy with your life now, wherever it may be.

Just highlighting that point about me being strange here.

Anyway let me get on to the topic of this rainy Thursday in March: Dreams and Passions.

I decided I wanted to be a film composer when I was about fourteen. I think this kind of freaked my parents out a bit, as coming from a non-musical family it seemed a bit out of the blue, and, I mean, musicians aren't exactly the highest paid people. Although my parents both studied drama at university, so they can hardly talk. But anyway, that's another story.

Music and composing is my greatest passion, and I honestly couldn't go a day without it. So it seems fitting to choose this as my career, right? I'd rather spend every day doing something I love than waste my life in a job I hate. Nonetheless, it is extremely daunting and I'll admit I'm a little frightened. Firstly, the music industry is a big and scary place. There are so many people trying to make a living out of it that I can't help feeling that I'm just one in a million, and there's no way in hell I'll be good enough. I feel like I doubt myself too much, and yet there is always part of me that really is convinced that I have no talent whatsoever and I'm just another tiny fish in a huge, blue ocean. But I am determined to prove myself wrong, to follow my dream no matter what everyone else says.

Of course, the other fear is that if I try and make a job out of a hobby I will start to hate it. I don't think this is likely, as I love composing far too much, but there's always that little voice in my head telling me everything that could go wrong. Man, I hate that little voice. But what if, after years of studying and looking for jobs and slaving over hours of work I find that I don't want to compose anymore? What then, after wasting all those years?

Well, my friend (yes that's myself I'm referring to as my friend), then you just start again. Go back to university or college or whatever, and find yourself another passion. I think what some teenagers don't realise is that choosing a degree now doesn't have to determine how you spend the rest of your life. I mean, we've all heard of a mid-life crisis, right? But on a serious note, it's never too late to change the course of your life. Sure, it's not easy - it never is - but it's not impossible. All it takes is hard work, a passion, and a dream.

So yes, I want to study music next year when I'm done with school. I have no idea where it will take me, but I guess it will be a journey. And it's how I want to spend my life. At least for the moment.

One of my favourite movie quotes is from Night at the Museum 3, of all things. I know, classic. But it goes like this. One man says to his friend, "I have no idea what I'm going to do tomorrow."

The friend replies, "How exciting."

Side note: how cool is this picture of me playing the piano? I kinda love it.


Friday, 1 January 2016

HELLO 2016

Hello from the outsiiiiide okay sorry I can't believe I started my first post of the year like that but I COULDN'T HELP IT I'M SORRY. 

Anyway it's 2016, WHAT? Literally, I swear it was 2012 yesterday. But I'm going to stop talking nonsense and get on to what I actually want to say now because this blogpost is already enough of a train wreck. 

Okay, so new year = new years resolutions, right? I'm so bad at them though and I never actually complete them, which I'm sure is the same for many people. So this year, I decided I'm just going to have one new years resolution, and I'm going to try my best to stick to it. And that resolution is (drumroll please):

Make things happen. 

Okay let me explain a bit. I am an introvert, and I'm quite happy to sit alone in my room all day and read or write or watch Agents of SHIELD or something alone those lines. But nothing is going to happen if I don't take initiative, so I have to actually get up and do things instead of just dreaming about them all the time. This goes for many things such as getting fit, getting good results, making new friends or getting my compositions into the world, which is why I though this one resolution would be a good umbrella for all I hope to achieve this year. 

So there you have it, my New Years resolution for 2016. And apart from that I hope that this year brings you joy and happiness and you make the most of every minute of it. 

See you soon!